Sugar-cane feeder



Jan 16, 1945. I HEWLETT 2,367,278

SUGAR CANE FEEDER Filed Oct. 27, 1942 INVENTOR I AllezzMjYewlgii v BY ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 16, 1945 Allen M. Hewlett, Haina, Hamakua, Territory of Hawaii Application October 27, 1942, Serial No. 463,510

4 Claims.

- The present invention relates to means for regulating the feed of sugar cane'to the first mill and/or crusher in a cane sugar factory.

In one common form of apparatus for handling sugar cane, the cane is carried by a conveyor to the inlet upper end of an inclined chute and made to slide downwardly along the chute to the first mill and/or crushing rolls. It is important that the layer of sugar cane fed along the chute be maintained at a predetermined uniform thickness to assure efi'icient uniform operation of the first mill and/or crusher rolls.

One object of the present invention is to provide new and improved means for automatically regulating the feed of sugar cane to the first mill and/or crusher rolls to assure continuous delivery of a layer of uniform predetermined thickness to these units.

In my improved apparatus, the regulating means is in the form of a pivotally hanging gage plate near the inlet end of the chute adapted to scrape over and level off the feed blanket or layer as it slides downwardly along the chute. The angular movement of the gage plate about its pivot support resulting from variations in the thickness of the .feed layer is transmitted to a device controlling the speed of the motor which drives the initial conveyor-carrying the sugar cane to the inlet end of the chute. This device may, for instance, be the throttle valve of a steam or gas engine, or the rheostat controlling the speed of an electric motor, and is operated by the gage plate to slow down the conveyor the thickness of the cane feed layer, but also as a bafile to check the flying pieces of sugar cane propelled by the rapidly rotating shredder, and to hold the accumulated cane behind said plate and release it gradually and orderly as part of the levelled feed blanket as it emerges from below the p1ate.-

Various other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following particular description, and from an inspection of the accompanying drawing, in

which: I

Fig. 1 is a side elevation somewhat schematic of my improved apparatus, certain parts being shown in vertical section;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective of a porendless conveyor Ill in a trough .II, and transpose of illustration, is shown as a steam engine when the thickness of the feed layer is increased beyond the desired predetermined value, and to speed up said conveyor when said thickness is' therefore long, these would interfere with effective feed regulating 'operations of the gage plate. Fpr that reason, there is provided as an additionalfeature a shredder, desirably in the form-of a rotary cutter inadvance' of the gage plate.

As a feature of the present invention the gage plate serves not only as a means for regulating H, but which may also be a gas or electric motor. by a control device I6, which in the case of a steam engine would be a throttle valve in the steam line I! of said engine.

The chute l2 slopes downwardly away from the conveyor l0, and having its upper inlet end adjacent to the discharge end of said conveyor, and its lower end adjacent to the first mill, and/or crusher rolls l3. The chute l2 should be sufficiently long and be inclined at a sufficiently'steep angle to permit free gravitational The speed of this motor I4 is regulated flow of sugar cane therealong. For that purpose, it should slope at an angle of about 45".

A cane shredder 20, shown as aseries of radial knives is employed at the upper end of the trough I l near the discharge end of the conveyor l0, and is driven at high speed from any suitable source of power to subdivide the cane A just prior to its discharge into the chute l2. This cane shredder 20 may, for example, comprise sixteen knives arranged along the supporting shaft and driven at a constant speed ranging from 400 to 600 R. P. M.

To automatically regulate the thickness of the shredded cane layer B sliding along the chute [2 towards the crusher rolls l3 and to prevent the shredded cane from being thrown out by the shredder, there is provided a downwardly hanging pivotally supported gage plate 2| extending substantially across the entire cross-sectional area of said chute, and having its free lower end adapted to bear on the surface of said layer. The pivotal support for this gage plate 2| includes a rock shaft 22 journalled in bearings 23 in the side walls of the chute I2, and rigidly secured to said plate by suitable fastening means such as lugs 24. One end of this shaft 22 projects beyond the side of the chute l2, and is connected to the throttle valve l6 through a transmission mechanism so that said valve is opened or closed to an extent determined by the angular movement of the gage plate 2|. This transmission mechanism is shown including an arm 26 afi'ixed to the projecting end of the shaft 22 and pivotally connected to one end of the link 21, the other end being pivotally secured to an arm 28 rigid wit the operating member of the valve.

The steam valve I6 is desirably of-the rotary type having a valve plug 30 fitted for rotation in and then flows below the lower edge of said plate downwardly along the inclined floor of the chute I2. As this cane passes under the gage plate 2|, it is levelled oil by said plate. The gage plate 2| is urged against the cane layer B with substantial pressure so that occasional stalks projecting upwardly from the mean surface level of the feed layer are pressed downwardly on said surface to avoid disturbing the effective operation of the plate. For that purpose a weight 36 is suspended from the outer free end of the arm 26.

As the gage plate 2| is angularly moved from' the position shown in full lines towards the position indicated in dot and dash lines by an increase in the thickness of the feed layer B, the valve plug 30 is rotated by the linkage 26, 21 and 28 to permit less steam to flow to the steam engine l4, so thatsaid engine is slowed down, the conveyor I is reduced in speed and the rate of discharge into the chute correspondingly reduced.

Since the gage plate 2| extends almost vertically downwardly with a shallow feed layer, successive equal increases in the thickness of said layer cause progressively smaller changes in the angular position of said gage plate as said plate approaches the dot and dash line position shown.

the apex 42 of said orifice leads when said plug is being rotated in closed position. The variation in orifice area exposed to open position per increment of change in the thickness of the feed layer will always be substantially the same in any part of the operating range of the gage plate 2|. As far as certain aspects of the invention are concerned, the orifice 4| may be shaped in any other way according to the characteristics of the machine and the displacement characteristics of the transmission mechanism between the gage plate 2| and thevalve l6. a

The desired variation between the angular movement of the gage plate 2| and the extent of operation of the valve Hi can be efiected by other means. For instance, the linkage may be constructedto givedifierent angular movements of the valve l6 for equal increments of angular movement of the plate 2| in difierent parts of its operating range, or if desired, a properly designed cam or eccentric may be mounted in the transmission between said plate and said valve. Such a cam, for instance, could be positioned on the projecting end of the shaft 22 and the arm 26 may be pivotally supported at a point spaced from said shaft and may have a follower engagement with said cam.

In case an electric motor is employed to drive the conveyor ID, a suitable rheostat in the circuit of said motorcan be made to serve asthe speed width of the chute and up to the top of the chute I2 serves as' a baffle to check the flying pieces of sugar cane propelled by the rapidly rotating shredder 20, and to hold the accumulated cane behind said plate and prevent it from rolling helter-skelter down the chute.

A stop 43 limiting backward movement of the plate 2| prevents complete closure of the space be- To offset this varying ratio between the two movements involved, so that the flow of steam to the engine I4 is varied inversely as the thickness of the feed layer, the steam pipe l1 and the plug cock 3| are oversized,-and the valve passage 32 in the plug 30 has a valve opening which changes at a varying rate for equal successive increments of rotation of saidplug. For that purpose, a pair of similar triangular plates 40 are welded to the plug 30 in the valve passage 32 to term a substantially triangular orifice 4|, and said plug is so positioned in its casing 3| that tween the lower edge of said plate and thechute floor and jamming of said plate in closed position.

To permit manual regulation of the speed of the conveyor l0, there is provided a hand valve 34 in the steam line H, and a by-pass steam line 45 with a hand valve 46. This arrangement permits the speed of the engine M to be manually controlled through manipulation of the valve 46, when valve 44 is closed.

As many changes can be made in the above apparatus, and many apparently widely diiferent embodiments of this invention can be made with out departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. .A combined sugar cane shredder and feeder comprising an inclined chute, a conveyor for discharging sugar cane to said chute, a motor for driving said conveyor, a cane shredder near the discharge end of said conveyor for subdividing the cane prior to its discharge'onto said chute, a gage member against which the shredded cane is discharged by said shredder, said gage member yieldably bearing on the layer of cane in said chute and movable by variations in the thicknessof said layer passing under said member, and means I automatically operable by the movement of said member for varying the speed of said motor substantially inversely to the thickness of said layer.

2. In a sugar cane feeder, the combination comprising an inclined chute, a conveyor for discharging sugar cane to said chute, a motor for driving said conveyor, a depending pivotally supported gage plate having its lower free end yieldably bearing on the layer ofsugar cane in said chute, whereby said plate is angularly moved according tothe thickness of said layer, a high speed rotary shredder in advance of said gage plate for subdividing the cane prior to its delivery below .said gage plate, and means automatically operable by the angular movement ofsaid plate for varying the speed of said motor substantially inversely to the thickness of said layer, said plate being sufllciently close to said shredder to check flying pieces of cane propelled by said shredder.

free lower end of said plate being adapted to bear on the layer of cane in said chute, whereby said plate is angularly moved according to the thickness of said layer, said plate being sufilciently close to said shredder to check flying pieces of cane ,propelled by said shredder, and means automatically operable by the angular movement of said plate for varying the spee'd of said motor substantially inversely to the thickness of said layer.

4. In a sugar cane crusher feeder, the combination comprising an inclined chute, a conveyor inclined upwardly towards the upper inlet end of said chute, a rotary shredder for discharging sugar cane from said conveyor to said chute, a motor for driving said device, a device for .controlling flow of actuating power to said motor, a

,Sage plate in said chute extending substantially across the entire width of said chute and across a substantial part of its height, and having a pivotal support at an elevation which will permit said plate to hang almost vertically downwardly when said chute is free oi sugar cane, whereby said plate acts as a baflle for the cane discharged by said shredder into said chute, the free lower end of said plate being adapted to bear on the layer of cane in'said chute, whereby said plate is angularly moved according to'the thickness of said layer, and means for transmitting the angular movement of said plate to said device to vary the speed of said motor substantially inversely to the thickness of said layer.

ALLEN M. HEWLETI. 

